need help on the id of a turtle

tgiannes

tgiannes

Joined
Apr 2, 2007
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so my neighbor found it in her yard and wants to keep it for her kids, the mouth is kinda pointed and i was thinking it was a snapping turtle. So i know some one on here will know if its safe to give to kids?? Thanks just dont want a kid to loose a finger haha and it was hissing at us.
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It's not a snapping turtle. I believe it's an eastern box turtle. I played with them lots of times and have never been bitten.
 
Looks like a box turtle to me too. It's pretty rare to see them that small. They're totally harmless. They're capable of giving a nip on the finger, but I've never seen one do so. You could probably keep that as a pet, but you'll need to read up and get the proper equipment. Properly cared for, that little turtle will outlive you. Cute little thing. Fully grown, that turtle will only be about 8 inches long or so. They don't get very big.

Oh, and make sure anyone who handles that thing washes their hands before eating. Turtles often carry salmonella on their shells.
 
I will let her know that thanks.

So when the little girls get tired of it, Any good recipes for turtle soup?? :D:D jk lol
 
Nope,not a snapper.

This little snapper moved into my backyard pond. Cute little guy....my son knows not to bother it. If it sticks around long enough it'll make a tasty treat.;)

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And a much better shot of a slightly older one, just passing through our yard. Right next to our picnic tables while my son,daughter,and I were cooking on the grill.Sneaky little guy,quite docile for a snapper.

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OP, that's not a turtle, technically, it's a tortoise. I'd have called it a painted box tortoise, but don't quote me cause the WSSers that realy know their stuff will certainly correct me. I just call em as I see em, which is almost always wrong.

It needs water, but it doesn't need to be in water as it appears you have it. It would prefer a more arid environment.

It'll eat bugs if it has to but would prefer worms, hamburger or any "meaty" type food.

I believe pet stores have food for them too.

Snappers are easier to keep, IMO, because they eat ANYTHING. I usually buy minnows or crawdads at the bait shop and watch it stalk. You gotta put a few rocks or sticks in the tank to make it interesting tho. A snapper in an aquarium is a most interesting pet. Plus, I love it when knowitall morons come over and tell me the snapper isn't a threa to swimmers "cause they can't open their mouth underwater" --- WOOOOPS.

Anyway, have fun with it.
 
Box Turtle. :)

That other pciture was definitely a snapper, they look like they have an attitude even at rest and the jagged shell at the rear is a dead giveaway.

I found a Painted Water Turtle in a parking lot a few years back and we kept him and took care of him for a few years and let him loose. Nice little guy.
 
That there looks like a eastern box turtle, which there are many here in NW Jersey. Right now they are in egg laying mode.

They are a terrestrial, not aquatic. Aquatic turtles,painted turtles,sliders,etc, need to consume their food beneath water where terrestrial turtles(tortises) eat on land.

When I find these guys near roads I relocate them to safe and secluded areas.

As far as pets, they are much better off being left in the wild so that they can eat their proper diet. If kept as pets it is hard to meet their requirements and they will survive quite long but will become nutrient deficient.

I rehabbed turtles for a while back in the 80's and unless you are willing to do a lot of research and provide the optimum diet it is much better for the turtles if they are left in thee wild.
 
I believe that is the ornate box turtle. It is our state reptile. brizbane is correct. It is one of the most difficult species of turtle to maintain as a pet; they are very high maintenance if expected to survive long. When I say survive for long, it is all relative. In the wild they can live to be 100 years old. If carefully cared for in captivity they can live 30-50 years. They have to be sprayed often, temperature has to be maintained at appropriate levels, water needs changed and kept clean...
 
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I am not sure of his Id. BUt I have heard that concerning the Ego that turtles often suffer from Electra / Oedipal complexes.

TF
 
Also, I forgot to mention that they need sunlight for their health but also to regulate their hibernation period. This is very hard to duplicate in an artificial environment. In captivity with a stable temperature they will go into a partial hibernation mode anyway, and stop eating. So now you have a turtle who is awake and walking around,yet unable to eat when it should be dug in somewhere and hibernating. This is very stressful and can cause sickness.

What I am saying, that although people think these are simple creatures they are actually very complex. They have a very slow metabolism and will live a long time even if they are not provided for properly, but it is not fair to the turtle. Release him in a safe area and away from traffic and he may live for a hundred years.
 
brizbane said:
ejes,
Cool to see another turtle lover! Your advice was right on the money too.
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At one time, in a prior life, I was well into zoology and on my way to the "ologist" tag in college, but then I took a 180 degree turn and became a cop. Go figure.
 
ejes,
Now that is scary............I am a retired police officer,too. Some of the guys I worked with broke my chops for being a animal lover. But I always got the all the animal jobs that no one else wanted to handle, which I loved.
 
I had a Box Tortoise for 17 years, but I also was the keeper of the reptiles at college for several years and had "studied up" on their care. If you are not going to let him/her go, you also need to study.

Mine loved slugs, snales, and earthworms for meals. Also fond of bananas and berries of all kinds.

Get 'im outta the water but provide reachable drinking water.

Mine wandered the house on occasion, driving cats nuts.

Pulled thousands off 66 in Missouri. Just too slow to dice with cars.
 
It's a box turtle. I used to catch them all the time in the back yard. we normally just kept them for a little while then let them go.

They won't bite unless you do something stupid like poke it in the nose. My brother did that, but he was 1 at the time. :D It didn't do anything, it just hurt judging from my brother's reaction.:D

There is the thing about possible salmonella, so make sure they wash their hands after handling it.
 
Benjamin Liu said:
It's a box turtle. I used to catch them all the time in the back yard. we normally just kept them for a little while then let them go.

They won't bite unless you do something stupid like poke it in the nose. My brother did that, but he was 1 at the time. :D It didn't do anything, it just hurt judging from my brother's reaction.:D

There is the thing about possible salmonella, so make sure they wash their hands after handling it.
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Good advice about the washing of the hands. I found one on the road a few years back and brought it down to a local exotic birds/reptiles store and they actually told me I couldn't keep it without a license because they need to have shots.
 
Man, I wish I had some pictures of the snapping turtles my grandpa caught in the lake of the ozarks. The bigger one was the size of a manhole cover and the smaller one was barely smaller. Both were incredibly fast and terrifying.
 
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